


Taking A Chance

by theawkwardonetwothree



Category: Criminal Minds
Genre: And Cases, Expect smut, F/F, Femslash, Jemily - Freeform, Mutual Pining, Neither Knows How The Other Feels, there will be much fluff
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-06-21
Updated: 2015-07-02
Packaged: 2018-04-05 06:24:06
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,763
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4169295
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/theawkwardonetwothree/pseuds/theawkwardonetwothree
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Emily and JJ have had feelings for each other for a very long time, but they both think their feelings are unrequited. And after a close call on the job, one of the women decides to stop taking life for granted and go for what she wants and take a chance, because it just might be worth it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just an introduction.

JJ woke up early, as was usual on a work day. She stretched, groaning, and swung her legs over the side of the bed. Last night she hadn't slept very well, meaning that now she wasn't feeling very rested, nor alert. Not the greatest thing when you were an FBI agent.

Knowing that downstairs there was freahly made coffee, she forced herself to stand up and leave her bedroom. Once in her kitchen, she poured a mug of the liquid heaven and added just a little bit of milk and a spoonful of sugar.

She nearly groaned as soon as the hot drink hit her tongue. She liked to think that she already felt more awake, even though logically, she knew that wasn't possible. Call it the Placebo Effect.

While JJ drank her coffee, she placed two pieces of bread into the toaster. When it popped up, she spread some jam on the toast.

She sat at the table while she ate and enjoyed the silence. She liked to relax when she was at home, because silence didn't come easy at work. Not that she was complaining though.

She loved her job and the people she worked with. They were like her family. Although there was one person that she admittedly did not want to think of as a sibling, or aunt or uncle. Because there was a reason that stuff was illegal, not to mention immoral.

No, she thought as her mind wandered to the person who had become her best friend. She definitely did not think of Emily as a sister or aunt. She fell into a completely separate category.

The category of people she had been infatuated with, but could not have. More specifically, the column for the people who were straight, therefore unobtainable.

She shook her head and realized with a jolt that she had twenty minutes until she had to leave. She headed upstairs and opened her closet. Her chosen outfit for the day was a pair of tight, black pants and a sky blue fitted blouse. Once dressed, she slipped on her black heels and grabbed her purse. She also grabbed her badge and took her gun from the safe, securing it in its holster at her hip. After putting her cell phone in her pocket, she was ready to go.

The drive only took about ten minutes, so soon she was pulling into the parking lot at Quantico. She waved at the security guard and pulled into one of the parking spaces in front of the the building.

She walked in and stepped into the elevator, pressing the button for her floor. Just seconds later, she was stepping off the elevator and through the glass doors into the bullpen. Seeing that only Reid was here already, she waved at him and headed up to her office. She groaned when she saw the new stack of files on her desk. She set down her purse underneath her desk and sat down. Time to get to work.

~·~·~·~·~

Emily arrived twenty minutes later. She entered the bullpen and walked to her desk, reaching out her hand to ruffle Reid's hair as she walked by.

"Hey!" he protested. He smoothed it out with his hand and looked at Emily. "How come you're late?"

"I was having some car trouble," she gave him a smile and turned in her chair. He nodded and she almost felt bad for lying to him.

But she wasn't about to tell him that she had had a nightmare last night. She hadn't been able to sleep, and when she finally crashed, she was out like a light and had slept through her alarm clock.

She hadn't told anybody about the nightmares since she had stopped seeing the therapist when she had returned after her "death." It wasn't something she liked to talk about, to anyone. It made her feel weak and exposed.

She tilted her neck to the side, groaning when it popped. She looked up as JJ's door opened and the blonde walked oit. Emily quickly looked away as JJ looked down into the bullpen, ignoring the stare coming from Morgan.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

JJ knocked on the door of Hotch's office, bedore opening the door and peeking in. He looked up from the paperwork that he was working on and gave a small smile.

"Hey JJ."

She held up the file and said, "Got one in Montana."

His face became serious and he nodded. "Conference room in five."

"Yes sir." JJ closed his door as she stepped out. She headed over to the bullpen, pausing as she watched the team interact.

Derek, Spencer, and Emily were gathered at Emily's desk. They were all laughing at something Spencer had just said. She hated to be the one to ruin their fun.

She walked over. "Hey guys." They turned to look at her and Morgan groaned when he saw what she was holding.

"Really, Blondie?" he asked.

"Sorry, but this one's pretty bad. Conference room in five."

They nodded and she turned around, headed to Rossi's office. After informing him of the case, she walked into the conference room, laying out the case files on the table.

A minute later, Garcia walked into the room. "Hey cupcake."

JJ smiled. "Hey Pen."

"How are you on this lovely day?"

She grimaced and motioned to the files. "Creeped out."

Garcia patted her arm. "Don't fret. You and my other lovelies will go and catch the bad guy. You always do."

JJ nodded as the rest of the team filed in and say down, minus one. JJ frowned. "Where's Emily?"

"She was right behind us," Morgan said, looking at the doorway.

Just then, Emily walked in. "Sorry. I just had to grab something."

Hotch gave her a quick look, and nodded at Penelope. "Let's get started please."

She nodded and turned to the screen. After pressing a few buttons, the pictures of three women and two men popped up on the screen.

"Okay, five bodies were found in parks, wrapped in sheets, naked. The bodies were found roughly a week apart, the last one five days ago.They were beaten severely and stabbed multiple times in the chest."

"Different genders. And two of the victims are not Caucasian, so there's obviously no racial boundaries," Reid said.

Morgan nodded. "Were there any signs of sexual assault?"

JJ shook her head. She'd read through the file and knew that there was nothing like that. "No. Just bruises and large cuts, but not on any major arteries. He didn't want them to bleed out."

Hotch looked at them and said, "I want to get there as soon as possible. Wheels up in twenty."

They all stood up and walked out of the room. Once they had their go-bags in hand, they headed to the airstrip.

They boarded the jet and sat down. Hotch handed them all their copies of the case file. "Read up guys. We need to get right work when we get there."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a little short one to see if you guys like it. Let me know what you guys think and if I should continue.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some of the case for you guys, as well as a little bit of bonding.

They were put right to work when they got to Montana. Morgan and Reid were sent to the latest crime scene, Hotch, Rossi, and Prentiss talked to the families and friends, and JJ had to rein in the media.

JJ groaned in annoyance, muttering a few expletives under her breath for good measure. She heard a chuckle to her left and looked over, seeing Emily standing there with a smirk on her face. "What did they do this time?"

JJ shook her head. "I don't understand how people can be so stupid!" Emily laughed. "I'm serious. And if they let it leak that the FBI is here, I swear..."

She trailed off leaving Emily to ponder the possibilities. The brunette stepped closer and patted her shoulder. JJ said nothing, not quite knowing what to say.

Just then, their attention was brought to Reid and Morgan as they walked in. "Those parks were easily accessible by car. He would have only had to carry the bodies ten feet or so."

"Okay, so our unsub's probably not very strong, physically. Otherwise he probably would have taken the bodies to a more secluded area."

Hotch opened his mouth to speak, but was interrupted when an officer walked up to their group. "Excuse me Agents, but there was another body just found."

Hotch looked at the team and said, "JJ, Prentiss, and Rossi, you guys go to the crime scene. The rest of us will stay here and look into victimology."

The local park was located roughly ten minutes away from the police station. When they arrived, Rossi parked the SUV as close to the crime scene as he could. They all exited the vehicle and walked over to the small area taped off by police tape. There were several police officers surrounding the body shrouded in sheets. The only visible part of the body was the face. It was a man this time. 

One of the policeman walked over to the and reached out his hand. They shook it and he nodded toward his fellow officers. "We did what you said. Nobody's touched the body and we got plenty of photos."

Emily smiled at the man, "Thank you." 

The three of them ducked under the tape and walked over to the body. They were each handed a pair of gloves which they put on. Prentiss crouched down next to the head and lifted the sheet, peeking under. "Same stab wounds as the other victims. There are some defensive marks it looks like, but not too many. Maybe he subdues them somehow."

Rossi nodded thoughtfully. "Perhaps. That would agree with our theory that he's not very strong. He has to gain control somehow," he said and pulled back the sheet completely. JJ winced when she saw the deep wounds on his torso and the dried blood, but nonetheless, bent down to take a closer look.

"Nothing showed in the tox screen though, right?"

JJ shook her head. "No. And there aren't any ligature marks."

"Well," Rossi said. "We're still waiting on the toxicology report from the last victim, so who knows. And, there are some things that wouldn't show up on a tox screen." 

"That's true." They stood up and stripped off their rubber gloves. "Let's get back to the station and talk to the rest of the team."

 Once they made it back to the station, they all reconvened in the conference room.

Mogan addressed the group that had just returned. "We haven't heard much.Garcia's looking through the victim's computers and cell phones, but that could take a while."

Hotch sighed. "It's already getting pretty late. We should head to the hotel and we'll come back first thing tomorrow morning."

 When they arrived at the hotel, JJ went to the front desk to get the keys for their rooms. She was confused ehen the man handes her three key cards. "We have six people. I booked six rooms."

The man frowned uncomfortably and looked at his computer. "I'm sorry Ma'am, but there are only three rooms reserved for your team." 

JJ sighed in frustration. "Well do you have any more rooms available?"

"No. I'm sorry but with all the reporters and things... We're fully booked. There's not many hotels in our little town."

She nodded. "I understand."

She walked back over to the rest of the team. When she informed them of their dilemma, Morgan asked, "So how are we going to do this?"

"Well, Jayje and I are the only women so we're paired up. You guys can figure out the rest." Emily spoke up and JJ felt simultaneous feelings of panic and excitement.

JJ tool a key for herself and handed the other two to Morgan. "Good luck."

~·~·~·~·~

As Emily stood next to JJ in the elevator, she tried not act relaxed, and not like the nervous wreck that she was inside. She was sharing a room JJ. At least there would be two beds.

She decised to ignore the small voice in her head, twlling her that she really wished there was only one.

And the voice may have been correct, because when they walked into the room, Emily felt a small rush of disappointment that there were indeed two beds.

Plastering on a smile, she turned to JJ. "Which bed do you want?"

JJ looked between her two options. "I prefer to sleep next to the window. Is that okay?" she asked.

Emily nodded and set her bag on the bed beside the wall. "That's fine. I'm just gonna go change okay?"

She ruffled through her bag and pulled out her baggy t-shirt and sleep shorts that she slept in. She headed into the bathroom and stripped down to her underwear. After taking off a bra, which was really quite difficult because one of the hooks kept getting caught, she threw on her t-shirt. She then slipped on her shorts after changing into a more comfortable pair of underwear. Thongs were definitely not practical sleepwear.

She grabbed her clothes and went back out, noticing that JJ had changed while she was out of the room. It was a chore not to stare at the expanse of pale skin that JJ's blue and yellow plaid shorts revealed. 

"Hungry?" Emily asked the blonde.

"Starving," was her reply. "Wanna order something?"

Emily nodded. "Sure. I think the only thing open that delivers is probably pizza."

"That's fine." They quickly decided on what they wanted. Emily pulled out her cellphone and dialed one of the pizza parlors. She placed their order for a medium chicken garlic pizza with artichoke, then hung up the phone.

"Do wanna watch a movie?" JJ asked as she picked up the t.v remote. Emily nodded in agreement, so she turned on the movie and brought up the guide. 

One movie in particular caught Emily's eye. "I love 'Sunset Boulevard'!" She looked at JJ pleadingly.

~·~·~·~·~

JJ knew that she could never say no when Emily made that face. She bit her lip and looked at the brunette. "I've never seen it," she admitted.

Emily looked properly scandalized. "Well then, we need to change that." She cocked her head to the side and JJ had to fight the grin that wanted to erupt on her face. Emily was just too aforable in her big shirt, looking at her like that. "Wanna watch it?"

JJ nodded. "Sure. It looks good."

Emily nodded. "You bet your ass it does." 

JJet out a surprised laugh. "Okay. Well it starts in four minutes. What time will the pizza be here?"

Emily looked at the clock. "About fifteen minutes."

"Would you mind if we paused the movie until the pizza gets here? I hate getting distracted."

A warm smile made its way onto Emily's face and she shook her head. "I don't mind."

The opening credits began and JJ quickly pressed the pause button. "So you like the classics, huh?"

Emily nodded enthusiastically. "Definitely. Since I was a teen." She grinned. "This and Casablanca are probably my favorites."

She caught a glimpse of JJ's face before the blonde turned away. "JJ, you have seen Casablanca, haven't you?" When JJ shook her head, Emily shook her head. "A travesty." And without thinking, she said, "Well then when we get back from this case, you and I are having a classic movie night. All my favorites."

She realized what she had proposed and was about to say something when JJ grinned. "That sounds great." 

When the pizza arrived they set both sat cross legged on JJ's bed as it was closer to the television. The pizza box sat between them and they leaned against the headboard. "Ready?" Emily asked and pressed the play button on the remote that she had stolen from JJ.

To say that JJ enjoyed the movie would be understatement. It was a great film, and she enjoyed watching Emily's reaction to the movie. She would catch the brunette, grinning and laughing silently. Sometimes she would be mouthing the lines along with the actors. 

"All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close up."

Once the credits started rolling, Emily muted the t.v and turned to the blonde. "How did you like it?"

"It was really good," she responded and yawned. "I think I'm getting tired though."

"Me too," Emily responded in mid-yawn. JJ couldn't help but chuckle. The brunette stood up and stretched, and JJ stares when she caught a glimpse of soft skin when her shirt rode up.

She glanced away when Emily relaxed. She went and got into her own bed, laying under the blanket. 

"Good night JJ." She switched ofd her lamp. 

"Good night Em."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for kudos, it really makes my day. I'm glad you guys seem to like the story, and I shall hopefully update soon. And if you're feeling generous, you could leave a review. :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Case work and a surprise.

When they entered the precinct the next morning, they received a call from Garcia. JJ answered the call and said, "Hey Pen, what did you find out?"

"Hello my friends. And I went through all the victims computers, phones, and any accounts I could find. There wasn't much on the women's computers. Just messaging friends and such." She paused and they heard her typing. "But what I did find out that all of our male victims were either gay or bisexual."

Hotch frowned. "You're sure Garcia?"

"Yes sir. There are messages and e-mails between the victims and multiple men, planning to meet up with each other."

"Shit," Morgan groaned. Not good. "What about the women?" If they had somebody killing homosexual citizens, then they were really in some deep shit.

"The women were all straight as far as I can tell. They had text messages from men, ex-boyfriends and such."

Emily sighed in relief. "Alright, no hate crimes. Thanks Gracia. Anything else?"

"Not at the moment, but I'll hit you back if you do. Toodles." They heard the phone click and looked at each other.

Reid spoke up. "You know, the murders suggest a lot of anger towards the victims. What if the Unsub is bisexual as well?"

Rossi caught on to what he was saying. "Maybe he's impotent. He kills when he's unable to have sex with the victims."

Hotch looked at Morgan. "Derek, call Garcia and have her look and see if ther is anybody that all the victims have talked to."

"On it."

The team continued to pour over the data and Reid worked on developing a geographical profile.

Garcia called them back later that afternoon. There was one telephone that all the victims had contacted. Penelope had traced it, and came up with the name: Johnathan Whitney.

When she ran his name, she found out that his criminal record held several charges of harassment. Not many, but enough that it raised flags. But, the address listed was a bust. It was a modest sized house on a large field.

Nobody was there.

The team was disappointed, which was expected. Upon searching the man's home, they found several pairs of underwear. Lace panties and boxers.

But if that wasn't disturbing enough, what they found under the bed was. JJ knelt down and lofted the end of the blanket, reached in and pulled out a shoebox. Opening it, she gasped and immediately shut it again.

Morgan glanced around the room at the other members of the team, then gently took the box from JJ's hand. When he opened it up, he understood why JJ didn't want to look.

Inside the box, there were polaroids. The lictures were of the victims, posed obscenely for the camera. They were taken post-mortem. He could see the blood and bruises on the victims' torso and thighs.

He passed it to Hotch and patted JJ on the shoulder. That was all they found. After putting it all in bags, they took them back to the station.

They put qll they could into their job until it was too late on the day to do anyrhing. So, the group headed back to the hotel. Everybody fell asleep within ten minutes, tired from a day's work.

They got their break the next morning. When they got the phone call saying that Johnathan Whitney had purchased a plane ticket to Canada, they all geared up and got ready.

Hotch gave his team their orders. "Emily, JJ, Rossi, and I will try to catch Whitney at the airport. Morgan and JJ, I want you guys to head over to his house. Something isn't right. He knows we're onto him, but yet he used a tracable credit card."

Derek and JJ nodded in agreement and ran out to one of the SUVs. Morgan hopped into the driver's seat and started the car while JJ buckled in. He pulled out onto the street toward Johnathan Whitney's house.

After a few moments of tense silence, Morgan sighed. "Hotch is right. Why would Whitney use his credit card? He had to know that we were tracing it."

JJ was silent for a moment. "He's trying to throw us off. He knows we would go to the airport so, if he's not there he thinks he's safe."

"Well, we're gonna get his ass."

When they pulled up to the house, they noticed that there was no car in front of the house. JJ mentioned this and Morgan nodded, and they walked up the porch steps and to the front door. JJ pulled out her gun, holding it in preparation of what may be inside. She nodded to Morgan and he nodded back before facing the door. He pounded on it quickly. "Johnathan Whitney, FBI!"

He then counted to three before he reared back and kicked the door open. They made tgeir way first through the kitchen, then the living room. "Clear!" they would shout when they checked each room. Once upstairs, they split up to check the bedrooms. Nobody was there either.

They headed back downstairs and stood in the living room. "Well he's not here. Maybe he really did go to the airport."

Morgan frowned like he didn't believe it. "Maybe. If so, we should hear from Hotch soon."

JJ nodded and looked around the house. It looked normal. Nobody would ever think that there was a serial killer living there.

She holstered her gun and was about to walk back to the kitchen when something caught her eye. She looked through the window and her eyes widened.

"Derek?"

"What?"

"His car's parked behind the house! He's still here!"

JJ didn't hear the small noise behind her until it was too late. Excrutiating pain burst in her head and shoulder and she could vagely hear yelling as she fell to the ground. The pain was awful and she just wanted it to go away. Her prayers were answered when the darkness grew bigger and bigger until it was all there was.

~·~·~·~·~

Morgan reacted quickly as he saw their Unsub rush out from beneath the staircase. Derek raised his gun as he watched JJ hit the ground. Johnathan turned to run, but Morgan was faster. He reached out, tripping the man. He then placed his foot firmy on the man's back. "Don't move!" He shouted.

He pulled out his phone. "Medic, I need a medic! Officer down!"

He cuffed Johnathan and made sure that he was secure, which wasn't really necessary because he had hit his head on the way down and was quite disoriented, before moving toward JJ. She was unconcious and there was quite a bit of blood coming from her head. "Come on, come on."

He quickly moved to Whitney's side when he tried to get up. He placed hus palm on his back between his shoulders. He pressed down firmly. "Don't even think about moving."

The medics arrived within two minutes and they immediately pulled Derek away. He let them and stood by, watching as a police officer threw Whitney in the back of a squad car.

He watched as JJ was placed on a stretcher and as she was loaded into the ambulance, and he also watched as the ambulance took off toward the hospital.

He hopped back into the SUV and quickly followed the ambulance. He then pulled out his phone to notify his team.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> We find out about JJ's condition. This chapter is all from Emily's POV.

When Hotch's phone rang, he was just about to call JJ to tell her that they couldn't find Johnathan Whitney. When he saw that it was from Morgan he answered immediately, assuming that the news was about Whitney.

"Hotchner. What do you have?"

As Morgan spoke, Aaron's face hardened. "Which hospital?"

Emily, who was partnered up with Hotch, looked at him in concern. When he snapped his phone shut and stalked toward the SUV, she ran to catch up with him.

"Hotch! Who's at the hospital?" 

He turned to look at her. "It's JJ."

Dread filled her. She almost regretted asking. "What do you mean? What happened?"

They both got into the car as fast as the could. "I don't know," he said seriously. "All I know is that she is unconscious with a head wound and in an ambulance, on her way to the hospital. Morgan didn't say anything else, but it doesn't sound good"

Emily felt her chest constrict. Tears pricked at her eyes as she looked out the window.

She felt sick as she thought of never seeing the blonde agent again. Many times she had sat and watched the woman when she wasn't looking. Emily was in awe of her and if JJ didn't pull through, her biggest regret would be never letting her know much she was loved.

Her only hope was that she would be able to do that for many years to come. 

She didn't know how bad JJ's injuries were, but it didn't sound very good. If she were knocked unconscious from a hit in the head, she would have a really bad concussion at best. At worst...

She was silent until they arrived at the emergency entrance to the hospital. She jumped out of the car and entered through the automatic sliding doors.

She marched up to the nurse's desk and flashed her badge. "I'm looking for a patient, Jennifer Jareau. She was just brought in by ambulance."

The nurse began typing on her keyboard while Hotch came to stand beside her. Prentiss tapped her foot in impatience. After a minute, the nurse looked up at them. "She was taken in for a head scan. It'll be a while before she's out and in a room, if she's not taken in for surgery." And that did not reassure either one of them whatsoever, but the nurse took no notice. "You can go ahead and take a seat right over there while you wait."

The pair sat down, quite annoyed with the lack of information. But just then, Morgan walked in from the hallway. When he spotted his teammates, he immediately walked over to them. His worried eyes, softened as he looked at Prentiss. As he and Garcia were the only people to whom she had convulged her adoration for the blonde agent who was currently in the balance, he knew what she was thinking.

"Ah princess." He gave her a tight hug and sat next to her.

"What happened?" she whispered.

He turned his gaze on them. "We were in the house. The car wasn't outside, so we thought he wasn't there. We seatched the house though, but uh... he wasn't there. We were in the living room and JJ looked out the window and the car was behind the house." He winced. "Then Whitney came out from under the stairs. He had a big piece of wood, almost like a bat. He hit her and got her head and shoulder." He paused and remembered how she had looked. "There was blood on the floor. I cuffed Whitney and called the medics. She passed out and... he hit her so  _hard."_

Emily felt sick to her stomach, but pushed away the feeling and laid a hand on Derek's shoulder. "She's gonna be okay. She has to be." She didn't know who she was trying to convince.

The others arrived just minutes later, and they all congregated in the waiting area.

It was seventy-four minutes later when the doctor came. "Hello. My name is Dr. Jamison. You're all here for my patient, Ms. Jareau?"

Morgan answered for them all and said, "Yes sir."

He gave them a thin smile. "Yes, well Ms. Jareau has had a malliofacial CT scan, and it appears that she has severe orbital and tripod fractures. And there was also severe bruising on her shoulder and part of the neck." 

They weren't sure exactly what that meant, but it didn't sound good. "What that means, is that her cheekbone and brow bone are fractured quite badly. She should be fine, nothing required surgery, but she does have a concussion, possibly grade 3, as well as quite a few stitches for the wound at her temple and brow bone."

They were silent, digesting the information. After being flooded with a strange mix of concern and relief, Emily spoke up, "When will she be awake?"

The doctor frowned. "Hopefully soon. The longer she stays asleep, the worse her injury may be. But, she did wake up once, which is a good sign. She was very disoriented, but she could remember the incident, however she was only awake for about half a minute."

They nodded and looked at each other. "Can we see her?"

"She needs to stay relaxed, so I want only two at a time. But yes, she may have visitors."

Emily desperately wanted to go see her, but didn't say anything. She didn't want the team to think that she thought she was more important, or something like that. She didn't want to be selfish.

Morgan noticed her distress and said, "I think Prentiss and I should go first." Hotch looked at them for a moment before giving them a short nod.

"Thank you sir."

They set off down the hallway toward room 1476. Once at the door, Prentiss took a deep breath and opened the door slowly. What she saw when she looked in broke her heart.

JJ was lying under a thin blanket that was tucked under her arms, which were lying at her sides. She looked pale and cold. Too much like a corpse.

Her hair was half-heartedly tied up, a result of one of the nurses most likely, who had to move it to do the stitches. And speaking of the stitches, she could see them, where they were at her temple. That whole side of her face was bruised and looked extremely painful. In the crook of her arm was an IV. 

And yet, she was still the most beautiful person Emily had ever seen.

Morgan watched as Prentiss took in the sight of their friend lying in the hospital bed. He felt a sense of hopelessness, not knowing how to help her. He stepped forward and laid his hand on her shoulder. "Princess?" he said softly. He waited until she looked at him. "I'm gonna go call Pen and let her know how JJ's doing."

She looked like she was about to protest, to tell him to stay, but he shook his head. So she smiled gratefully, knowing exactly what he was doing, giving her time alone with JJ.

And speaking of the blonde, Emily went two sit in one of the chairs beside the hospital bed. After a few awkward moments, she reached over and grabbed JJ's cool hand in hers.

She was silent for a minute, then said, "You really scared me, you know?" She glanced at JJ. "I thought I was gonna lose you. Not that you're mine to lose, but... That's not to say that I don't wish you were mine, because I do. I... I wish you w"

She sighed and was very glad that the blonde wasn't awake to hear her awkward attempt at speaking. Even when no one was listening, she could function properly. Looking at JJ's bruised face, she tried again.

"For a very long time, I've thought about what to tell you. And I still have no idea." She smiled. "I've been in love with you for six years. And until now, I've been content with just being in your life as a friend." Emily gazed at the woman to whom she was essentially pouring her heart out. She knew that she would never again be satisfied knowing that she hadn't taken the chance. She never knew what would come of it. She vowed to herself that she would find a way to tell Jennifer. 

For fifteen minutes, she sat with JJ, telling her random stories of her childhood abroad. Due to her mother's job, she had spent many years of her childhood in different countries.

Morgan joined her and took the seat next to her. After a few minutes, he said, "She's gonna be alright."

"I know," she nodded. "It's just, seeing her like this..."

"Yeah." He patted her hand.

"I guess I should go on and let someone else come visit." She looked like she didn't want to be anywhere else but in that room, but they both knew that it wouldn't be fair to keep the others waiting.

Next was Reid and Rossi, then Hotch and Morgan. She felt bad that he didn't really get to visit the first time. 

Garcia arrived just a few minutes after Hotch and Morgan headed down the hallway. "Hey. What are you doing here?"

Garcia smiled. "I had to come and see our favorite blondie, myself excluded of course. Surprise." Emily noticed that while Garcia seemed alright, her eyes showed fear and worry.

Emily smiled despite the situation and pulled Garcia in for a hug. Penelope chuckled and squeezed her tightly. "How ya feeling?" she whispered in the brunette's ear.

"Better," she responded truthfully. She pulled back and smiled at Penelope. "Hotch and Morgan should be back in about ten minutes or so, then we can go down and see her."

Garcia nodded and they sat down after she had said hello to everyone. "How's she doing?"

Emily sighed and laid her head down on Penelope's shoulder. "The doctor and everyone else keeps saying that she'll be fine, but, her face... It's all bruised and purple and black, and she's got these stitches." She looked at her hands. "I don't like seeing her hurt," she said quietly. 

Garcia looked at her sympathetically. "I know you don't honey, but you just have to believe the doctor, he knows what he's talking about. She'll come through." She rubbed the Emily's back.

Emily nodded. She rested on Garcia, trying to absorb her strength. She looked around at the rest of her teammates. Rossi looked like he had been crying at some point in time, and Reid still had tear tracks on his cheeks. He looked hollow, as if he hadn't yet figured out how to process what he was feeling. JJ was like an older sister to him. She had taken Spencer under her wing and had helped him to become the man he was now.

When he glanced in her direction, she gave him what she was hoping was a reassuring smile. JJ would be alright. She had to be.

Less than ten minutes later, Morgan and Hotch walked into the waiting room. "Any change?" Rossi asked.

Morgan shook his head. He then noticed the new addition to their group. "Hey Mama. When did you get here?"

She stood up and hugged Morgan. "Just after you went back. How is  she?"

He sighed. "She's pretty banged up, but the doctors say she'll be fine."

She nodded. "So I've heard." She looked at their raven-haired friend who stood up and came to stand beside them. "Let's go on back Em."

Emily led her to JJ's room and when they entered, she heard Garcia gasp. "Oh, Peaches." She went and held JJ's hand.

Emily took a seat and watched as Garcia's eyes became glossy at the sight of their friend. Penelope sat, still holding JJ's hand. She shook her head. "He really got you a good one, didn't he?" she muttered, studying the array of bruises. The colors were actually quite pretty, intricate, and she might enjoy if they were anywhere else.

Garcia and Emily made quiet conversation, discussing JJ's condition, although Garcia did make a point to ask Emily how she was doing several times. She had a small understanding of how she felt, after having seen Morgan in the hospital, injured, multiple times, although the situation was slightly different.

So when JJ's head moved a bit from side to side, neither took notice, too deep in conversation. It wasn't until her hand twitched that they felt it. Their gazes flew to the bed.

JJ barely opened an eye before shutting it. A moment later she tried again and this time succeeded. Granted, one of her eyes was mostly swollen shut, but she did as best as she could.

"JJ?" Emily said. Slowly, very slowly, the blonde's eyes slid toward her. Emily smiled, filled with relief. "You're awake."

"I'll get the doctor," Garcia said as she jumped up and rushed out of the room. 

Emily reached down and squeezed her hand in both of hers. "Hey," she whispered. "Welcome back."

JJ glanced and around the room. "Where am I?"

"In the hospital, in Montana." She watched as JJ's eyes focused. "Do you remember what happened?"

JJ looked like she might have been about to nod, but seemed to think better of it and whispered, "Yeah." She licked her lips and Emily reached over, grabbing her cup of water, slipping the straw between JJ lips. 

"Better?" she asked as the blonde took a few sips.

"Mmhmm." 

Emily looked up as suddenly, Penelope and JJ's doctor entered the room. The man stood beside the bed and smiled at JJ. "Hello Ms. Jareau," he said in a gentle voice. "My name is Dr. Jamison. I'm glad to see you awake."

JJ managed a small twitch of her lips as she squinted at the doctor. "Ah, I think we can turn the lights down a bit. I imagine you have quite the headache." He walked over to the wall and flipped a switch, dimming the light a bit. JJ's face relaxed. "Much better." He looked at the monitor for a moment and nodded, noting that everything seemed to be fine, situation noted.

Next, he inspected her stitches. "How would you rate your pain, Ms. Jareau?"

"High," she answered as she closed her eyes again.

"Hmm, well I don't see why we can't give you some stronger pain medication. Sound good?"

"Yeah."

He worked to set that up and poked his head out the door, asking one of the nurses to assist him. She returned a minute later with a bag of fluid. She scanned JJ's hospital-issued wristband and staryed the IV drip.

It seemed to work, as soon, JJ was looking pretty blissed out. "Okay, this drug will make her very drousy, and she may get a little loopy," Dr. Jamison warned. "She must sleep for no more than an hour at a time. One of her nurses could wake her, or one of you."

"I can do it," Emily offered. The doctor nodded and bid them goodbye.

"I texted Derek and let him know that she's awake and doing pretty good. It's getting late, so they're going to come say goodbye, then go back to the hotel."

Emily nodded and turned to look at JJ. Throughout the next ten minutes, the team all stopped by and said goodbye, giving their best to the blonde lying in the bed.

Emily smiled at Garcia. "You can go if you want. You're probably tired after your flight and everything."  She frowned, but Emily shook her head. "Go. I'll be fine. Then you can cover for me tomorrow while I go to the hotel and shower and change."

"Okay. You're sure?" Emily assured her that she would be fine and Garcia agreed. "Alright." After their farewells, Penelope hurried to catch up with the others. 

Emily sat back and waited until the clock reached an hour. When it did, she reached over and getly shook JJ's good arm. "JJ." Nothing. "JJ," she said louder. She moved her head to the side, but didn't wake. "Jennifer," she said firmly. That did the trick.

Her eyes opened and she looked at Emily. "Sorry, but the doc said that you can't sleep for more than an hour."

JJ frowned but closed her eyes again. Emily thought she had already fallen asleep, but then she heard, "Em?"

"Yeah?"

"I like it when you call me Jennifer." And with that she conked out, and Emily grinned as she heard faint snoring. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am so sorry that this update took so long. I had an epic case of writer's block, and for some reason, my other CM fic 'Handful Of Hope,' was coming along better, so I went with it. I promise that I'll try to update regularly.
> 
> I hope you guys are still here! I haven't gotten a lot of feedback, so if you could just leave an itty bitty little comment? Please?


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